Apple today redefined pro computing with the launch of the all-new Mac Pro. Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the Mac Pro features the latest Intel Xeon processors with up to 12 cores, dual workstation-class GPUs, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory. Packing amazing performance in a stunning new design, the all-new Mac Pro starts at $2,999 (US) and will be available in December.

"The new Mac Pro is our vision for the future of the pro desktop, everything about it has been reimagined and there has never been anything like it," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The new Mac Pro packs up to 12-core Xeon CPUs, dual FirePro GPUs, ultra-fast ECC memory, new PCIe flash storage, Thunderbolt 2 expandability and more into a radical new design that is one-eighth the size of the previous generation Mac Pro."

“From the blazing fast performance of DaVinci Resolve to real-time video capture with UltraStudio 4K, Mac Pro is a revolution in pro desktop design and performance,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design.

“With the Mac Pro’s dual workstation-class GPUs, we’ve seen MARI run five times faster, creating a fluid painting experience that’s unlike anything we’ve seen. This kind of performance is a digital artist’s dream,” said Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry.

The all-new Mac Pro is architected around a unified thermal core that allows the system to efficiently share thermal capacity across all the processors. An innovative fan draws in air incredibly efficiently and makes the new Mac Pro as quiet as a Mac mini. The result is a pro desktop with unprecedented performance packed into a design that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous Mac Pro.

Reinvented from the inside out, Mac Pro is designed to tackle even the most demanding workflows. The new Mac Pro features 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz that deliver double the floating point performance of the previous generation Mac Pro. Two workstation-class AMD FirePro GPUs with up to 12GB of video memory provide up to seven teraflops of compute power and up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation Mac Pro. OpenGL and OpenCL are optimized in OS X Mavericks to leverage the full computing power of the Mac Pro CPU and dual GPUs.

The new Mac Pro features PCIe-based flash storage that delivers sequential read speeds up to 1.2 GBps and is up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives. ECC DDR3 running at 1866 MHz, with a four-channel memory controller, gives the new Mac Pro up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth, twice that of the previous generation Mac Pro. The spectacular power and bandwidth of Mac Pro means you can seamlessly edit full-resolution 4K video streams and play them in real time.

Featuring an incredible six Thunderbolt 2 ports, each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device, the all-new Mac Pro completely redefines desktop expandability. Thunderbolt 2 ports support up to six daisy-chained devices each, giving pros the ability to connect up to 36 high-performance peripherals—from external storage devices, to multiple PCI expansion chassis, to audio and video breakout boxes. Thunderbolt 2 uses existing copper or optical Thunderbolt cables and is completely backward compatible with existing Thunderbolt peripherals and cables, and also supports the latest 4K displays. A new self-configuring IP over Thunderbolt software feature in OS X Mavericks provides a fast link between Thunderbolt-enabled Macs.

The new Mac Pro provides unparalleled power for Apple’s professional apps, including Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X and Aperture. Final Cut Pro X has been optimized to support dual GPUs for improved real-time playback performance, faster rendering, quicker export, and 4K video monitoring through Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI. Flash storage makes importing and exporting thousands of high-resolution images faster with Aperture. Logic Pro X takes advantage of flash storage for incredibly fast project load times and Thunderbolt 2 for a high number of channels of ultra-low latency audio I/O without the need for add-on PCI cards.

The new Mac Pro ships with OS X Mavericks. Mavericks is the 10th major release of the world’s most advanced operating system and is available for free from the Mac App Store℠. In addition to more than 200 new features, Mavericks introduces features for power users including Finder Tabs, Tags and enhanced multi-display support, as well as new core technologies for breakthrough performance such as Compressed Memory to keep your Mac fast and responsive. Mavericks also delivers significant performance enhancements for systems with dual GPUs through optimized OpenGL and OpenCL. For more information or to download Mavericks visit www.apple.com/osx/.

Mac Pro meets stringent Energy Star 6.0 requirements and achieves an EPEAT Gold rating. Mac Pro uses up to 70 percent less energy than the previous generation, is constructed with 79 percent less aluminum and uses 80 percent less packaging material than the current Mac Pro. Mac Pro contains no brominated flame retardants, is PVC-free and uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Pricing & Availability
The all-new Mac Pro will be available in December through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The Mac Pro is available with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of VRAM each, 12GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at $2,999 (US); and with a 3.5 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs with 3GB of VRAM each, 16GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at $3,999 (US).

Configure-to-order options include faster 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon E5 processors, AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of VRAM, up to 64GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online here.

This would stick out like a sore thumb from any other apple products, I don't understand why they'd use a black colour scheme. I guess their standard grey/ white aluminium may make it look like a trash can, but that's what happens when your product is, well, in the shape of a trash can

The Mac Pro with Quad-core CPU, 12GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and Dual 2GB Radeon D300s (1280SPs, Pitcairn based) starts at $2999. I can understand an Apple pricing premium, but this is outrageous. They don't even throw in a 4th stick of memory so that you can use quad channel for that price. The raw cost of hardware in that system is somewhere around $1500, so you are paying an extra $1500 for a small case and limited expansion.

For those who still think this has dual CPUs, it doesn't. It's single CPU and dual GPU.

Upgrading to a 12-core system is probably another $2000 (the E5-2695V2, the cheapest 12-core, is $2336 and the E5-2697V2 is $2614). Add external Thunderbolt storage for about another $500 and you're looking at $5500 for a professional video editing system, and that's with no monitor, mouse, or keyboard.

Apple has taken the Mac Pro, which was already a niche product, and reduced its niche even more. The Mac Pro used to be a high end workstation and its price was even comparable to dual processor workstations with the same hardware. Now it's just a design curiosity. Anyone serious about video editing will go for a faster workstation with dual 10-core processors for the same price as the Mac Pro 12-core. Or if you want to save money get a workstation with dual 6-core processors and save $1000-$2000.

That price is so outrageous I seriously wonder if they'll bundle Final Cut Pro with the system and claim that it's a value since you're getting it for "free." Because at this point there is no reason to buy a Mac Pro unless you are absolutely in love with Final Cut Pro. No wonder Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas are gaining so much market share compared to Final Cut Pro.

The Mac Pro with Quad-core CPU, 12GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and Dual 2GB Radeon D300s (1280SPs, Pitcairn based) starts at $2999. I can understand an Apple pricing premium, but this is outrageous. They don't even throw in a 4th stick of memory so that you can use quad channel for that price. The raw cost of hardware in that system is somewhere around $1500, so you are paying an extra $1500 for a small case and limited expansion.

For those who still think this has dual CPUs, it doesn't. It's single CPU and dual GPU.

Upgrading to a 12-core system is probably another $2000 (the E5-2695V2, the cheapest 12-core, is $2336 and the E5-2697V2 is $2614). Add external Thunderbolt storage for about another $500 and you're looking at $5500 for a professional video editing system, and that's with no monitor, mouse, or keyboard.

Apple has taken the Mac Pro, which was already a niche product, and reduced its niche even more. The Mac Pro used to be a high end workstation and its price was even comparable to dual processor workstations with the same hardware. Now it's just a design curiosity. Anyone serious about video editing will go for a faster workstation with dual 10-core processors for the same price as the Mac Pro 12-core. Or if you want to save money get a workstation with dual 6-core processors and save $1000-$2000.

That price is so outrageous I seriously wonder if they'll bundle Final Cut Pro with the system and claim that it's a value since you're getting it for "free." Because at this point there is no reason to buy a Mac Pro unless you are absolutely in love with Final Cut Pro. No wonder Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas are gaining so much market share compared to Final Cut Pro.

Not everyone has the same needs so yes someone may need a firepro or two on a mac....

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I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just something I notice from time to time - depends on the perspective I guess.

Yes I know there are different needs, but my point is will these cards be used for it's intended purpose. I never bothered with the OS X a lot so I don't know of any programs that would take advantage of them as opposed to the windows environment where it's standard for CAD etc.

I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just something I notice from time to time - depends on the perspective I guess.

Yes I know there are different needs, but my point is will these cards be used for it's intended purpose. I never bothered with the OS X a lot so I don't know of any programs that would take advantage of them as opposed to the windows environment where it's standard for CAD etc.

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Not everyone works in the "CAD" industry,
There's applications out there purposely written to run ONLY on/with firepros
(PACS, SPEI, DICOM, gamification, data acquisition & analysis, simulation, etc)
which is quite certainly the type of pros apple is targeting with this machine.

I know people say is better or more cost efficient to build one from the ground up
perhaps even a pre-built one from a large vendor but, there's mission critical deadlines
that you simply dont have the time to be dealing with and/or handling a build, tweak, or troubleshooting.

(HP workstation division is the worse, even if you purchased large scale blade-based infrastructure,.... compare this versus walking to the nearest apple store and simply saying "here... fix this for me or give me a new one")